Hallyu Star, Bae Yong-jun, will be returning to television screens in a new drama seriesabout wine. The show, entitled,Water Drops ofGod, will hit screen late 2009.The series is based on the original Japanese animation series of the same name and soon became a bestseller, stirring up a newfound interest in wine throughout Japan. The Japanese version begins with an internationally renowned wine critic named ‘Kanjiki Yutaka’ who offers his life’s fortune, including his entire wine collection, to anyone able to find the 12 bottles of wine called the ’12 Apostles’ along with a bottle of wine named the Water Drops of God. This, in turn, triggers a competition between his son, ‘Kanzaki Sizuku’, and adopted son, ‘Tomini Itze’. Interestingly enough, the original authors of this Japanese cartoon, the ‘Agi Tadashi’ brother and sister, modeled the ‘Tomini Itze’ character after Bae Yong-jun.

As Bae Yong-jun rested up and received treatments for his injuries during his last drama in 2007,Taewangsasingi, he began studying about wine in order to prepare for the filming of the drama that is slated to begin in early 2009. Furthermore, Bae Yong-jun will be returning to supply the voice of the male lead in the animated version of the popular drama Winter Sonataalong with Choi Ji-wu.

Set during the Joseon Dynasty, Ryung acts as a useless gangster in the marketplace by day but at night he is a chivalrous robber who robs corrupt government officials to give to the poor. After each robbery he leaves behind a wooden branch from a plum tree at the site of the robbery to take responsibility for the robbery. The poor citizens only know him as Iljimae. Bong Soon is a hilarious girl with good martial art skills and lives as a swindler. She only loves Ryung and sacrifices her whole life for him. Eun Chae is a government official's daughter and is good in nature and usually helps miserable people. She meets Iljimae once by chance, and their sweet love story begins. However, her love puts Iljimae in a dangerous situation because an Imperial Guard also loves her.source: dramawiki

Sunday, September 07, 2008

The 24-episode drama "Sikgaek" is enjoying popularity, stimulating the appetite of TVaudience around the country. Based on Hur Young-man's popular comicseries of the same name, the film versionof the series, titled "Le Grand Chef," was also a huge hit when it was released last year. In the drama, a culinary genius dreams of becoming the best chef in the country. Korean Wave star Kim Rae-won plays the leading role, Sung-chan, and Kwon Oh-jung plays his rival, Bong-ju. A beautiful restaurant manager and a food magazine journalist, played by actress Kim So-yun and Nam Sang-mi, form a love triangle, raising the tension. While the film version focused more on the fierce cooking competitions between two main characters, the drama looks for the essence of Korean cuisine, showing Sung-chan scouring the countryside to find the best cooking ingredients.

Keen media interest in and out of the country is also being paid to the drama. Unlike the TV show "Daejanggum," where a female chef cooks for the royal family during the Joseon Dynasty, “Sikgaek” shows more common Korean cuisine consumed in daily lives. Recent episodes featured hanwoo, or Korean beef, competitions, introducing how high-quality Korean cows are raised, slaughtered and cooked. "The reason why good hanwoo is more expensive than imported beef is explained in our drama. Because the producing process is seen in detail, I hope the drama to be helpful for hanwoo consumption," Kim Rae-won told reporters during a news conference.

Nam Sang-mi, who plays a feisty journalist in the drama, added, "The whole experience, traveling around Korea, feels like a photo album."Aired by local broadcaster SBS, the drama continues until the end of August.